Page 82 of Mermaid on Heels
“Of course, Cedric.” Liriya nodded with a half smile. “Luke is lucky to have a cousin like you who loves him and looks out for him so much, like a brother.”
“Wearebrothers,” Cedric said with a grin and his eyes dropped to the letter in her hands. “Oh, your letter! We’ll put it in an envelope and seal it before sending it to your friend.”
The next few moments passed as Liriya watched Cedric sliding her folded letter into an envelope, addressing it to Bianca, and teaching her how to seal it with wax. Just as Liriya pressed the plain seal over the wax, a knock sounded at the door.
“Double visitors, what a day for me,” Cedric muttered, eliciting a chuckle from Liriya as she straightened and moved the hair from her face. “Come in!”
The door opened and Luke entered. Liriya’s heart raced.
“I assume you’re off from the duty of entertaining the elite of the day?” Cedric greeted him playfully, but Luke ignored him when he found Liriya. His eyes widened a little in surprise. Then he smiled, closing the door behind him, and approached her at the desk.
“Hey… I didn’t know I’d find you here.” Luke spied the tools sprawled on his cousin’s desk curiously before glancing back at her. “What are you two up to?”
“Liriya wants to send her friend Bianca a letter and she came to me for help. Why, are you jealous?”
Liriya held back her laugh; the joker was back, he no longer sounded like the emotional, protective little brother from moments ago.
Luke rolled his eyes at the ceiling.
“Wait, you haven’t gotten to thank this friend of hers yet, have you?” Cedric asked suddenly, making Luke blink once and then run a hand through his face.
“Um… why?” Liriya glanced between the two men, confused what they had to thank Bianca for.
“For everything she did for you and your sisters and bringing you to me. I owe her my thanks, Liriya.” Luke turned to her and explained.
Liriya sighed with a smile. “She is my best friend, Luke. Friends do that for each other.”
“Yet, I owe her,” he stated and half-sat on the desk. “So,youtell me what I can do for her. I’ll do it.”
Liriya didn’t hesitate to answer. “Well, thereissomething and I hope it is not too big.”
“Anything within my power, I promise to do. Please say it.” He meant it. Liriya saw the sincerity in his eyes and didn’t waste another second.
“Bianca is a gifted seamstress. She made the gowns that she and I wore at the ball. I watched her make them all by herself. She has always wanted to be a seamstress, but no one hired her for the job, not even as an assistant. They all turned her away even before they could acknowledge her talent. She had been saving up money, little by little, to start her own business one day. That was when her stepfather died and his debt fell on her.”
“Tragic,” Cedric muttered, frowning.
“It was.” Liriya nodded, glancing at him and then back at Luke. Before she opened her mouth to continue, Luke cut in.
“I can settle her debt and help her start her business,” Luke declared, with a nod of his head.
“She settled the debt, though. She had no choice, or else she would have lost her house. She was paying it from her savings; working in several places day and night until she secured her job at a baker’s where she is paid fair enough.”
“What do you mean she would have lost herhouseif she didn’t pay the debt?” Luke’s eyebrows knitted together. “Who did she owe the debt to?”
“The earl of Ornwall.”
“And he threatened her?” Luke’s eyes squinted, clearly upset.
“Yes. If she did not pay him the agreed amount every month on the due date, he would send his finance manager to threaten her. She and her little sister, who is only Sessa’s age, skipped a meal every day so that they could save up the earnings and pay the debt in time…” Liriya trailed off, her heart clenching in pain at the thought of what her best friend and her little sister had gone through. If only they had found each other earlier…
Luke pushed himself off the desk and ran both his hands through his hair before turning to face his cousin. “And this is really happening inourkingdom, from a member of the court?” he asked in disbelief.
“I’ve never liked that man, honestly. He’s prideful and judgemental.” Cedric shook his head. “What was his name again?”
“Alphonse,” Luke said, heaving a deep breath.
“His triplet daughters bully Bianca in public, whenever they saw her. That was how my sisters and I met her, at Delkaria marketplace,” Liriya added, seeing Luke desperate to bring justice for her friend. If that was so, she wanted him to do something that would teach those girls a lesson too.